I Can Stop At Any Time…

I know this is old news to anyone with a vague interest in fashion but…

Anna Sui is coming out with a new line of clothes for Target!

And they are Gossip Girl inspired!

They hit stores on the 13th!

Squeee!!!!!!!!!

I know, I know. I was supposed to be keeping my fashion dollars out of the big box stores.

I have a big birthday coming up next week and I was supposed to start dressing with a little more dignity, i.e not like a wanna be teenage socialite.

I can’t help it.

I totally want the one on the far left. The black number is a little too Sophomore semi-formal ’98 for me but the silver one… that totally would have worked for a New Year’s Eve On The Moon theme party I had a few years ago. I don’t know how I feel about the jacket over the cute little wrap dress but whatevs.

In general, I’m feeling it.

I think I may have a problem.

Favorite Scottish Things Revisited…

People, I have been remiss. In my post highlighting my Favorite Scottish things I forgot the most awesome thing Scotland has ever produced… David Tennant. Check out this clip featuring Tennant opposite Catherine Tate as a petulant English schoolgirl. This sketch really highlights Tate’s comic virtuosity (she’s totes my idol!) but there’s plenty of the Tennant Mystique (The goofiness! The smolder! The goofiness! The smolder!) to go around. It almost makes me forgive him for this year’s un-season of Dr. Who. Almost. Tennant, you are a cruel master. 

Etsy: Tool of the Patriarchy

So I think I might be just a teensy, tiny little bit obsessed with Etsy, the magical place on the interweb that brings you spiffy handmade goods from independent sellers all over the globe. I know I’m I’m not alone in my DIY shopping zeal. The Etsy obsessed may number in the thousands these days. There’s even a guy who keeps a blog about about being an Etsy widower, the phenomenon that occurs when your significant other becomes so Etsy-absorbed that she forsakes all other things in the name of craftiness. Dude, you and my boyfriend should totally start a support group, I’ll give you his phone number.

Some people are so into Etsy that there’s a whole website about planning your wedding with it. I used to make fun of people who had their nuptials devised before there was even a proposal but  I’ve gone through the website and bookmarked every invitation, feathered bridal fascinator and crocheted wedding bouquet I liked. I said it was for a friend who’s getting married this summer, but no, it was all for me and my future awesome totally DIY wedding that is taking place, oh I don’t know, somewhere between now and 2085. I’ll send you a handmade letterpress save the date printed on recycled bamboo with soy based inks when I get around to it.

Shopping on Etsy just makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I like that I’m keeping my dollars out of the big box stores and supporting independent businesses. They even have a search feature that allows you to buy locally. I like that many Etsy sellers use recycled, upcycled or eco-friendly materials and I like that when I buy something from Etsy I’m buying something unique that everyone else in the world won’t have. So what ruined my feminist wet dream? Listen in, oh daughters of the revolution! According to Double X,  Etsy is peddling a false feminist fantasy.

That’s right, every time you buy an all natural yoga mat carrier, handmade set of stripper pasties or pouch for your menstrual cup you are contributing to the system of oppression that is keeping women down. Why? Because Etsy was founded by men. And we all know know everything that men are in charge of is inherently corrupt and evil. And also, did you know that it’s difficult to get rich running a business on Etsy?  Yeah, and making it on your own as an artisan, renting gallery space and touring to craft shows all over hell and creation is a really lucrative business model, much more lucrative (and environmentally sustainable) than working from home. And did you know, the majority of people who sell goods on Etsy are female!? Obviously, this makes Etsy bad because if it was really so great, men would be selling their stuff on Etsy too, right?

The writer continues on to bash the typical Etsy family, who reportedly has an average household income of $62K, well above the national average,  This, she theorizes is because the male partner is out working his high paying corporate job enabling the woman to stay home, chained to her knitting needles creating low cost goods all while being duped into believing that she’s living a feminist fantasy.

That last bit is where I really start to to take umbrage. I am so sick and tired of being told that I’ve allowed my pretty little head to be tricked into thinking that oppressive things are feminist. Fuck you, I’ll decide for myself  what’s oppressive with my own well educated, independent, feminist little head thank you very much. Wake up Double X, there is a whole network of independent businesswomen on the web. Most of the savvier ones use Etsy as a vehicle to sell their crafts in tandem with several other on-line venues. Etsy is just one of many ways for a small business owner to get her product out there, not some kind of monopolizing sweat shop. I fail to see how providing a low cost platform to start a business and get your product some exposure is a model of oppression. If anything it is exactly the opposite, allowing more women independence by providing a way to build a business with very little start-up money or experience. 

Second of all, this post touches on my absolute least favorite subtext in some feminist writings, the idea that we’ll never be truly equal until women live their lives exactly like men do. I’ve never understood why being more like a man was supposed to make me a better woman or a better feminist. 

The problem with the “old” feminism is that it leaves out 50% of the population. As long as we are solely focused on women’s rights in the narrowest sense of the word (gaining the right to take on stereotypically male occupations) we will fail to create a world where all people can live free from the rigidity of traditional gender roles. We need to move the debate beyond the same old arguments. If we focus on creating a world that is more equitable to all people, where the concerns of those from all walks of life are being addressed as equally important, we will see a world where gender disparities are lessened.

Do I want to live in a culture where having a child won’t be career suicide for a woman? Absolutely. But I don’t think we’re ever going to achieve that until men can take paternity leave without facing criticism for it. I’m sure that some of those so called “Etsy Husbands” would love to focus on being partners, parents and artisans but we haven’t yet created a system where that is a very acceptable choice for men. Of course, this whole argument can be viewed as cyclical too. We may hope for the time when more men can be stay at home dads, but until women are given equal pay, it will be difficult to make that dream come to fruition. That 100% pay gap between working moms and child-free women isn’t exactly helping things either. 

Even though the women of Etsy may not be getting rich, I still believe their business model can be in line with feminist ideals. To me it doesn’t have to be all about who’s making the most money. It is also about spending my money in places I feel good about. Etsy gives ethical consumers alternatives. Now I have the ability to buy things that fall in lines with my social and environmental ethics, support small businesses and keep my money out of the pockets of big companies that hurt women. Did you ever think of that, Double X?

I believe that DIY mentality of companies like Etsy can only have a positive impact on society. I don’t need no stinkin’ hammer to smash the patriarchy. We crafty women will take it down one knitting needle at a time.

Stuff I Like: Teen Girl Squad

After my last post, I feel obligated to lighten the mood around here a little. How better to do it than by sharing one of my favorite web videos ever, from the geniuses that brought you Strongbad, Teen Girl Squad:

I love how the craptastical production values still somehow capture the absurdity of pubescent girls. Plus, the voice of the narrator is the same voice my boyfriend uses when he does an impression of me, because he’s a goober.

Happy saturday, kids.

Stuff I Like: The Steamy Bohemians

 

All right kids. I’m just gonna put this right out there. I have a big, huge, raging lesbian girl crush on The Steamy Bohemians. Scratch that, it’s more than a crush. I am viciously, wildly and perversely in love with the Steamies. If I could, I would marry them in a big, gay Massachusetts wedding, because that’s what will start happening when we let the gays get married. People will start marrying their dogs, their cousins and their favorite stand up comedy duo and we’ll all end up going to hell. Just you watch.

But, I digress.

A Steamy Bohemians show is is like watching your raunchiest gal pals riff off each other after a couple of vodka tonics, except, you know, funnier. And with guitars. And banana shaped maracas.

The Steamies know how to keep it real, tackling such hot topics as what happens when your second cousin is really really hot:

(Warning, none of these vids are even remotely SFW, unless you happen to work in a brothel, in which case, rock on!)

Or how to handle the static when some dude catches you making out with his girlfriend:

And if incest jokes and vagina puns aren’t enough for you (vajungle, anyone?) how about a trip to sex town?:

They are the MCs and twisted masterminds behind Jerkus Circus, the freaky, sexy, fun variety show that swept Boston and is now poised to take over the world, or at least a very small section of it in select urban areas. Chances are they’ll be coming to a bar near you, so check ‘em out. I’ll be the creepy girl in the back, scrawling love letters on a cocktail napkin in crayon.

Please, Think of the Hipsters!

OK, so most of my readers are aware of my well documented love/hate relationship with American Apparel. An affair that has been complicated of late with the announcement that AA has now launched a line of (sort of) maternity clothing. Now just ‘cuz you got knocked up doesn’t mean you can’t still dress like coked out disco skank! This adds yet another perverse layer to the American Apparel Hates Fat People (or at least fat women) debate. What does it mean that AA is willing to start a line especially for husky guys but their answer to expecting women is to just try and wriggle themselves into some of their stretchier styles? Clearly they have demonstrated an understanding of the fact that larger people need larger clothes, so why doesn’t the idea ring true for the women’s line? Is being pregnant just not a good enough excuse to get fat?

So here goes kids, I’m dusting off my hate letter to American Apparel. Enjoy:

Dear American Apparel,

I appreciate that your 100% cotton garments are so expensive because they are made without any slave labor in sunny L.A where you pay your workers a living wage. Really I do. I appreciate it so much that I continue to buy your products even though you are enabling a generation of hipsters to dress like aerobics instructors from the 80s without even the effort of raiding a thrift store. I appreciate it so much that I even look the other way from your horrific print adds. You know, the ones with some anorexic, strung out looking girl in some vaguely masturbatory pose that’s supposed to be provocative with a look in her eyes that says she’s oh so bored with everything, even sex (which she probably can’t even muster the energy to have since she’s so emaciated that she looks unable to menstruate, let alone break a sweat)? Yeah those ones.

In your Cambridge store today I witnessed a phenomenon that makes me want to whack you upside your collective fashion mullet. To put it bluntly, you seem to think that the only people who should be wearing your 100% cotton slavery free garments are people the size of the waifish models you use to pedal them. Lest you mistake me for a lone whiner, it has been well documented that I’m not the only woman with this problem.

I think a person my size should be able to fit comfortably into a size large at any mainstream retail store. Hell, throughout most of the 1990s (before the whole size inflation thing happened and I woke up the next day and was suddenly a size 6 without doing anything differently) I WAS a medium or a large at most shops. If you are trying to take a stand on the whole vanity sizing things and have Americans start thinking realistically again, then I respect that, although somehow I think your motives are not so altruistic. 

Okay, okay, I understand that a womanly figure is threatening to the other greasy haired, concave chested half of your sales demographic, the MALE hipster.

So I beg you, AA, if you can’t muster any compassion for your female shoppers, think of the male hipsters! What about all the sensitive men who’s self esteem you are destroying with your size deflation when they find they can’t fit their scythe like hips into your tightie whities or striped cotton 70′s athletic shorts?  Female eating disorders have long been a scourge in modern society, now must you now send the other half of the fashion conscious sector to purge over toilets as well!? Aren’t they better employed spending their parent’s money on weed or flunking out of an art school they aren’t talented enough to be at in the first place? How will they manage to roll out of bed by 3PM to pound a Miller High Life and get to band practice if they are too worried about their love handles? How will these fragile men live their lives if they are forced into the same kind of all consuming body image schizophrenia that most women engage in on a daily basis!?

The real dirty thing about all this business American Apparel, is that I bet the size deflation doesn’t run through to the male side of your clothing line. In fact, I wonder if size inflation/deflation is even an issue with men’s apparel in general. Tell the truth AA, nothing is worse than a fatty, especially a fatty who tries to wear trendy clothing and feel good about herself even if she’s not a size two. That’s just like, ew. And while we’re at it, nothing is more threatening to the image conscious, emotionally crippled pretty boys you like to sell your clothing to than a woman who could kick their asses. 

But this psychology is nothing new. We saw it in the 90s with Calvin Klein who said so famously that women over size 10 shouldn’t wear jeans. We’ve seen it throughout history. Because nothing freaks the fashion industry out more than a mature woman who isn’t willing to contort and starve her body by any means possible in order to fit into YOUR clothing.

But I’ve been unfair to you, AA. It’s not just you, it’s not just the fashion industry. It is the culture that supports it. The culture that tells women that we need to look adolescent to be sexy and that a mature woman in power is undesirable.

It’s me too, after all, I bought the little size XL sundress you had on the rack. And the A-line skirt, and the leggings, and the tiny tank tops in a rainbow of basic and fluorescent colors, and the sparkly gold hot shorts. And even though I’m not your target consumer, even though I’m spending my hard earned cash at a store that has tried to ward off my child bearing hips by making most of their styles too small to fit them, I still think I look hot in your clothes if I do say so myself. And sometimes I kinda hate myself for feeling that way. Damn American Apparel, I wish I could quit you. 

xoxo,

Fever

Friday Freak Out

Although they have been the official band of my heart for a while now*, The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize” is now the official song of their home state Oklahoma. This does not surprise me seeing as Wayne and the boys (oh, excuse me, it’s Professor Coyne now) are pretty much the coolest things to come out of Oklahoma since, well ever. Pretty much the favorite sons of the Sooner State, they even have a street in OK City named after them. And starting this fall, wanna be rock stars can register for classes with my favorite front man at the new Academy Of Contemporary Music at the University Of Central Oklahoma.

Ain’t nothin’ like the feeling of seeing a band you’ve loved since you also loved flannel shirts and sniffing sharpie markers in the back of Spanish class make good.

This is all sort of making me feel a little inadequate about the Massachusetts state song though.

Anybody out there interested in re-writing it into a freaky post punk ballad? Anybody? Bueller?

I nominate Geek USA…

* and oh hell, I just made them the official band of this blog. Because I’m cool like that.

I’m So Happy This Exists…

If you grew up in the 90′s chances are you’ve heard of Sassy, the cultish teen magazine that served as the primer for a generation of alterna-tween girls (A.K.A future BUST readers of America) before the phrase tween even existed. Ah, the 90s, an idyllic time when kids dyed their hair with Kool-Aid, MTV played music videos and the bright future we were set to inherit did not involve crushing national debt and two seemingly endless, multi-trillion dollar wars.

Back then I wasn’t even sure if I knew what love was, but when I saw Kurt and Courtney together on the cover of the April 1992 Sassy I was quite sure that was what I wanted it to look like.

Well, minus the heroin and the suicide, but gee, they sure looked happy back then, right? Shortly after getting my grubby adolescent mitts on that issue I got into my “moth eaten librarian sweaters and baby barrettes pilfered from my baby sitting charges” fashion phase. I even spent an evening with my head underneath my bed (lest my mom burst in unexpectedly and catch me), strands of my hair floating in a plastic dish of slowly congealing jell-o (there was no Kool-aid in my house and I figured jell-o had similar dying properties) in an effort to look more like Kurt. Or Courtney. I really wasn’t sure which one I wanted to look more like, androgyny was in that year too. Such was the power of Sassy.

Sassy was the first magazine I’d ever read that told me it was OK to like boys who looked like girls (or even like other girls, for that matter) and that there was no shame in going to school with your head smelling like Aunt Rosie’s Jello-o mold if you were doing it in the name of expressing your individuality, man. Other teen magazines taught you how to fit in, Sassy readers wanted to stand out. They had Miss Teen USA, Sassy had The Sassiest Girl In America, an honor that as far as I could see was bestowed yearly upon a plucky teen who embodied the ideals of intelligence, social awareness and nonconformity, plus a killer fashion sense.

If it wasn’t for Sassy I certainly wouldn’t have heard of bands like Sonic Youth before college, let alone gotten my first whiff of sex positive feminism. It seems a tad over-dramatic (and pathetic, if we’re being totally honest here) but Sassy played a part in me becoming who I am today.

Had I not know that there were other girls out there like me, girls that wanted to write zines, make their own clothes and change the world, what would I have become? I’m thankful to say that I don’t know the answer to that question. There were numerous books and albums and artists and life experiences that have made me into the opinionated, eccentric all around badass feminist and fashionista extraordinaire that you see here today, but Sassy helped point me in the right direction.

The thing is, I am nowhere near as original as I thought I was in 1994. Sassy had the same impact it had on me on thousands of other teen girls and now we’ve all come of age and are looking to buy various nostalgic paraphanalia. There were other Young Girls With Opinions and Stuff who clung to their issues of Sassy with the fervor of a crush-induced mix tape and two of them have written a book, How Sassy Changed My Life: A Love Letter To The Greatest Teen Magazine of All Time, by Kara Jesella and Marisa Meltzer.

Sassy officially ceased to be in 1996, and since then I have never seen another publication aimed at teen girls that has a fraction of the honesty and intelligence of Sassy. How Sassy Changed My Life, exists and I am so happy it does, if only because it proves I’m not totally lame for carrying a literairy torch for a teen mag from the 90s.

Monday = Time to Rock Out!

In honor of GeekUSA‘s April Covers project, here is a cover by one of my favorite bands…

 The Flaming Lips doing a cover of what was my favorite Madonna song when I was five. 

Or maybe it was the only Madonna song that my mom wouldn’t change when it came on the radio because it was one of the only ones with lyrics that were vaguely appropriate for a five year old.  I don’t know. The point is, that this is my valiant attempt at blogging more often, even if it is only to post something that you could probably find yourself on the Flaming Lips’ fan website. Totally worth clicking on, the song is simultaneously ethereal and creepy and expansive and everything a Lips song should be. 

 Oh come on, it’s raining, it’s Monday, and I barely got home from work today without having a temper tantrum because my feet were damp and I couldn’t scrape together enough change from in between my car seats to buy a latte.

Fear not though, dear Fever starved readers, I’m working on a blog entry about my musical influences from childhood. I have two words for you, George Michael.

 

More soon!

I pinky swear!

Women of the Cloth

DIY dames are turning their periods into a party with these rad pads.

From university students to stay at home moms to corporate lawyers and young entrepreneurs, women ranging from boardroom babes to your local baristas are ditching the disposables.

Hold onto your girly bits, I’m blogging about pads. Cloth pads. That’s right. For your period. OK, insert the obligatory but that’s gross/messy/smelly/unhygienic reaction here and admit that you’re intrigued. After all, what woman would risk the social ostracism of being branded the dirty hippy with the cloth pads, not to mention going through the extra effort of caring for them every month if there wasn’t something to it?

Luci, 36 and Lydia, 27 of Ashland Wisconsin are two such women. They are the co-founders of Party In My Pants, a sassy sister run business that promises, “cloth pads for the princess on her period.” Fed up with disposables letting her down every month, “not to mention the chafing, sweatiness and involuntary bikini waxes”, Luci sewed up her first cloth pad in 1998 and gave some of her first crude prototypes to her sister Lydia who said she was “instantly sold.”

At first the sisters made and sold their creations to family and friends, but they couldn’t deny that there was something about cloth pads that “just seemed to make women happy”, so with encouragement from their customers they decided to expand their business. PIMP (their own self applied acronym) now has over 50 retailers across the US. The girls attribute their success to taking what they call an organic approach to business. “Our business challenges haven’t seemed overwhelming because we’re not expecting huge returns or overnight success. No bank loans, no gigantic investments, no expensive advertising campaigns. When we have the means to grow, we take another baby step.”

Take a spin on their website and you’ll instantly sense a hip, modern vibe that is reflected in everything from the dozens of funky fabrics there are to choose from to the sassy sense of humor they approach their product with. Picture buying your period protection from your funkiest art school gal pal and you get the picture. More proof that cloth pads are poised at the brink of becoming become the next must have hipster accessory? PIMP is about to be featured in next month’s BUST Magazine! So next time you’re standing in line in the women’s loo at your favorite scenester joint and you try and bum a tampon off the girl in the next stall, she might just tell you that disposables are totally passé and pass you a PIMP instead!

The pragmatic approach that the sisters of PIMP take to business is by no means unique in the pad world. Small, women -run businesses dominate pad culture. Many pad makers are Work at Home Moms (or WAHMs as they are referred to on the web) who are able to combine a meaningful career providing women with products they can have faith in while still being fully involved in the lives of their children. Take a gander at Etsy.com and you’ll find a variety of pad sellers offering different styles, shapes and colors to suit the preferences of any women. Some sellers even offer their pads in exotic, designer fabrics or lush organics such as bamboo velour or raw silk.

(An elegant selection from Modern Acorn)

Some independent sellers find their pads in such high demand that their online stores sell out within hours of being restocked. Modern Acorn creates funky handmade pads made of designer fabrics that are often imported from places such as Japan. While Homemade Mama’s shop features organic hand-dyed bamboo velour fabrics that many women consider the last word in comfort. Still many other women appreciate the attention to detail that a finely crafted Yurtcraft pad embodies. One thing is for sure, there are nearly as many shapes, sizes and styles of pads out there are there are women who wear them. Pads can be an affordable luxury for a women. Most of us can’t drop a few hundred dollars on a new silk dress but spending $10 on a raw silk topped pad is something many of us can afford and see as a worthwhile investment in our own health and comfort.

(Homemade Mama’s Liners)

The internet is buzzing with communities of women who have pad fever, and the first thing you’ll notice when logging onto any cloth pad forum is that they do indeed as Luci said “just seem to make women happy.” Why? Time and again when I spoke to women about cloth they reiterated that it enables them to “make peace with their periods.”

J, a 35-year-old lawyer from Chicago, IL, has been using cloth pads since 1995 and remembers when Gladrags and Lunapads were pretty much the only cloth pad products available on the market. Now she says that there are a variety of independently made pad styles available at her local women’s health center and feminist sex to shop. Like many women who use cloth pads, J says she, “Love(s) that (she) is supporting WAHMs and other women-owned businesses, while at the same time, ceasing to support the Menstrual Industrial Complex.” In addition she adds that, “Cloth pads fit perfectly in with my feminist ideals of bodily connection and integrity and women’s financial independence. They fit in with my activist mindset by allowing me to make consumer choices that are in line with my feminist ideologies.”

Moms are even passing down their passion for cloth pads to their daughters. Polly, a 33 year-old homemaker from Missouri, has been using cloth pads in conjunction with the Diva Cup for about 7+ years now and has recently gotten her 16-year-old daughter hooked. “I hope to (also) get my two younger daughters involved in picking out and building their very own unique stashes (slang term for a woman’s cloth pad collection) as they prepare for their own first periods. I would love it if paper disposables never touched their skin!”

(A neatly stacked “stash” of pads and liners)

Like many women, Polly switched to cloth after experiencing discomfort using disposables and feels that using cloth has dramatically shifted her attitude about her body and her period. “I am amazed at how I don’t dread my period anymore. I have experienced shorter duration and less heavy of bleeding since switching to cloth full time–I feel like I’m doing something much healthier and natural for my body.”

Sounds too good to be true? Many women who have suffered from heavy cramps and bleeding and even more serious conditions such as endometriosis, vulvodynia or other pelvic issues report that their symptoms decreased or even went away entirely when they switched to cloth. While nobody knows for sure why this is the case, some women find that the chemicals and irritants present in disposable pads and tampons are just too harsh on their bodies and that using cloth transforms their periods from a monthly burden to a manageable part of life that they sometimes even look forward to.

Polly is not the only woman who plans to raise children in a cloth friendly household. J, who does not yet have children, says, “The first thing I plan to do (if I have children) is continue to use cloth products, I think this will teach my kids that periods are a totally normal part of life…disposable pads, which look like bandages and are treated like medical waste, medicalize women’s periods. They reinforce the idea that women’s bodies are dirty and foul smelling, and that periods should be hidden away at all costs. Cloth pads, on the other hand, normalize menstruation. Periods are no longer something that requires “sanitary” intervention. Cloth pads encourage women to connect with their bodies and their cycles. Personally, cloth pads make me look forward to my period.”

Time and again as I spoke to women about cloth, their reaction was, “Nobody told me these were so comfortable!” or, “I wish I had known about these a long time ago!” All of the women I spoke with reiterated that the biggest misconception about cloth is that it is smelly or unhygienic. As Luci of PIMP so accurately put it, “What do you do when you accidentally get blood on your underwear? Do you sterilize it? Throw it away? No. You wash it.” It warrants a mention that disposable pads and tampons are not sterile either. Neither is your finger, your partner’s penis, or most other things that you put inside your vagina. Just because a disposable product is white and comes in a package does not make it sterile.

(Super-mod pads by Luna Wolf)

Personally, it was a desire to end the constant discomfort and dryness I experienced with tampons that led me to experiment first with the Diva Cup. When I realized how much more comfortable and protected I felt using the Diva Cup, it was only a small leap from there that led me to cloth pads, which I have found more comfortable and absorbent than disposables ever were. I am also one of those women who’s agonizing period symptoms disappeared once I switched to 100% non-disposable products. I went from sometimes feeling incapacitated by itchiness and pain while using disposables, to being able to conduct my normal active lifestyle in ease. I am also one of those women who has experienced lighter, less crampy periods on cloth. I’d grown up thinking my period was just a pain, but it turns out that the products I was using to manage it was really what made it so aggravating!

(The Diva Cup is just one of many menstrual cups that are a safe and ultra sporty alternative to tampons!)

Like many women who use cloth, a good old-fashioned mistrust of big business is one of the things that makes me feel so good about using a natural product. When I use cloth, I’m in control of what’s coming into contact with my body. If I don’t put chemicals on my pads, there won’t be chemicals on my pads or on my body. Who would I trust more? A product created for a woman, by a woman, or a product manufactured by a large corporation who’s bottom line is their profit and not my health? I trust tampon manufacturers with my coochie just about as much as I trust cigarette makers with my lungs, which is to say, not at all!

To me disposables are what really seems icky, not the other way around. It is believed that tampons especially may leave traces of chemicals behind in your body, and may be linked directly to endometriosis and cervical cancer. Tampon companies are not required by the FDA to disclose the ingredients of their products. Compared with the cramps, imitation and health risks associated with disposables, a bit of blood on a soft peace of cloth seems like nothing to me now. And speaking of that bit of blood, are they really so hard to keep clean? Women have many different ways of caring for their pads, but I just rinse mine out, give them a swipe with Ecover stain remover, and toss them in my laundry with my underpants. To me that extra step is well worth it to not have to spend my period week feeling like I’ve been hooking up with a cheese grater ever again.

To me it comes down to the idea that I deserve more than to have a period that is just an uncomfortable inconvenience. I deserve to use products that are gentile and make me feel good about my body.

So if the thought of your period leaves you feeling hopelessly emo, consider making friends with your menses and giving cloth pads a try.

Skeptical? Curious? The web is chock full of information and resources on how to have a safer, more natural period. Check it out!

(Yurtcraft pad and liner)

Eco Menses.com, a comprehensive web site about alternative menstrual products.

Tampon Safety, National Research Center for Women and Families. More information about what’s in tampons.

Etsy, one of the largest websites out there for all things handmade, including cloth menstrual pads!

Cloth Pad Shop, one stop shopping for cloth pads form a variety of sellers.

Cloth Pads Livejournal Group, online community for cloth pads users.